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David McK (3600 KP) rated The Scarlet Thief (Jack Lark, #1) in Books

Jan 30, 2019

While I had heard (read) this described as 'the new Richard Sharpe', this is a novel that, if I'm honest, I was unsure of whether to purchase or not - those are some big boots to fill, after all, and I'd both read and later been disappointed in other books that made the same claim.

However, when I read the short prequel novella [b: Jack Lark: Rogue|23646134|Jack Lark Rogue|Paul Fraser Collard|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1424476493s/23646134.jpg|43253728], that was enough to convince me to start in on the series proper.

having now read this, it is very obvious where the template comes from, even down to the evil Sergeant Slater who is really Hakeswill in all but name. As the first in the series, however (even before said prequels), I am prepared to make allowances.

The novel actually starts with Jack Lark leading his troops to cross the Alma river (in the Crimea), before moving back to six months before to show the events that led up to this: events that see Lark (who is from the East End slums) deciding to impersonate his officer when said officer dies on the way to his new posting.

As for the battle of Alma itself: while it is one that I had heard of, it's not one that I am overly familiar with; not one as famous as (say) Waterloo or even the Battle of Balaclava that would later occur during the same war (the Crimean). As such, and interwoven in the latter part of the novel - I actually find the history just as interesting as the fiction.

I think I will be picking more of these up :)

Kudos

Elli H Burton (1288 KP) rated Game Of Thrones - Season 8 in TV

Aug 11, 2019

Game Of Thrones - Season 8

2019 | Action, Drama, Fantasy

6.2

(44 Ratings)

TV Season Rating Watch

The battle of winterfell was good (1 more)

Arya.

Rushed (2 more)

The battle of winterfell was dark as anything. Clearly a production problem not our TVS!!!

Spoilers ruined this season finale, making it predictable and not worth watching tbh.

Such a disappointment

I don't like to include spoilers in my reviews as it ruins it for people who haven't seen it. Although the following is quite negative I would urge people to watch this series and make their own minds up about it. It has some awesome moments that had the essence of the good thrones series. G.O.T. fan when this season started I counted down minutes until I could watch it (yes I'm that sad). All I found after 2 years of waiting was a rushed finale that could have used atleast 2 more episodes or even another series. Despite the fantastic actors they have in thrones, the writer's clearly just wanted to get this over and done with. It is rumoured that George R.R. Martin wanted 2 more series after S.8 (he had written up to series 5 i believe). Series 6 and 7 weren't awful but definitely not as good as the first 5, this was the final nail in what was a perfect coffin.
I would have preferred to wait longer to get what the person that created the world wanted than writers just winging it. It's been months since the finale and I haven't been able to bring myself to watch it anymore if I'm honest.
Again, I know how sad it sounds but I am actually heartbroken as it was a finale so many had waited for and it just didn't live up to true thrones standards.
Granted some bits were brilliant, but unfortunately the pros of this series do not outway the cons.

Kudos

Deborah (162 KP) rated Fatal Colours in Books

Dec 21, 2018

Overall I thought this was a good book written in a very readable style. I've only given it 3 stars, however, as it does fall down in a number of ways.

First and foremost, the title of the book is a bit misleading. The Battle of Towton itself accounts for probably no more than a quarter of the text. I'm not saying the the rest of the book is bad, because it deals with the whole 'first half' of the Wars of the Roses and looks at how Henry VI's incapacity to rule (and the reasons for this) where in some degree responsible for the conflict, but it might be disappointing if you were expecting a full on coverage of Towton. You could try Andrew Boardman's book instead if you were interested in the battle.

My second disappointment was the introduction. Why would you ask Starkey, a well known Tudor historian, with a typical Tudor historian rabid anti-Yorkist views to write an introduction to a book ostensibly about one of the great Yorkist victories? This was one reason I held off buying this book for quite some time, not helped by the fact that the Kindle download sample was just part of this introduction, which wasn't helpful at all.

Goodwin delivered his own Coup de Grace in my eyes right at the end where he almost offhandedly accused Richard III of both the murder of his nephews (hotly debated, I admit, but without a shred of solid evidence) and then saying he 'probably' murdered Henry VI!!! Unless you take Shakespeare as gospel, there is absolutely no evidence at all for this and it's most unlikely. These couple of throwaway comments severely undermined Goodwin's credibility, which was a shame, as I felt that the book overall was good, but it makes me wonder if there was other sloppy research in there?